Thriving Latino herbal shop or “yerberia” inspires faithful customers

HOUSTON — Life-sized paintings of saints and angels along the bright-yellow walls of Rosario’s Mistic Yerberia prepare the eyes for what awaits inside.

A collection of religious artifacts, herbs, candles, charms and books surround the shop, which at first glance seems to be in complete disarray. Taking in a slower look sets things in place.

To the right, two 1-foot trolls stand on top of a showcase teeming with miniature trolls. Candles in all colors and with distinct images fill every wall. Further down the shop, a skeletal figure wearing a black robe and carrying a scythe stands guarding a showcase where smaller replicas abound; it is the venerated Santa Muerte.

The shop is at least twice the size of a traditional yerberia, allowing it to offer a vast selection of products. In addition, the shop provides spiritual guidance services. Its popularity and 35 years in the business make Rosario’s Mistic the most prominent yerberia in the area.

The owner and spiritual leader, Rosario Garcia, started her business selling herbal medicine in a booth outside a grocery store, says Rosario Freeman, Garcia’s daughter. Garcia is a third-generation herbalist but a first-generation healer.

Unlike Garcia’s father and grandmother, who were limited to the knowledge of herbal remedies, Garcia was gifted with the sensitivity attributed to psychics, Freeman said. This ability allows Garcia to do tarot readings, cleansings and spiritual elevations, she said.

Freeman and her brother, Juvencio Ramos, have helped their mom run the business since they were kids. She has learned to do cleansings and other rituals, but her main role in the business is to manufacture soaps, design candles and research new means for healing.